


Opposite Corner

by LittleRedAnxious



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Levi/Eren Yeager, Eventual Smut, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-04 08:38:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4131274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleRedAnxious/pseuds/LittleRedAnxious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi loves tea, he has the best tea shop in the city. Also, he hates coffee.<br/>Eren loves coffee, he has the best coffee shop in the city but few people know it. They just think he is the cute barista of the Café. Also, he hates tea.</p>
<p>Their shops are in the opposite corner of the crossroad.</p>
<p>Life is full of ironies.</p>
<p>-----<br/>Another soulmates AU, because I had to take it out of my system</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where this is going okay? And I know I have problems with grammar, sorry about that. English is not my first language so I'm sorry.
> 
> Let's see where this is going, if this is going anywhere. I might add tags and characters later

_Damn Tea_ , had the best reputation in town since it had opened. The place was comfy, had the best pantries of the city; it was so clean that it could challenge the city’s hospital, and had the biggest cart of teas of the state. If you could think about a combination of tea, any kind of combination, it was sure that _Damn T_ would have it. At the beginning the costumers would enter and leave as fast as they could because the only flaw of the shop was the owner’s mood.

Levi Ackerman had opened the shop because he couldn’t handle the horrible tea that the city made. Not a single place could made decent tea, if you asked him, and being the tea lover he was he decided to invest money to open a “damn decent tea shop”. All teas of the shop were his inventions, his babies, and he knew so much about teas that every single one of them was perfect. Sadly, as good as he was with teas he was as bad with people. He just couldn’t be nice, gentle or smile even if his life depended on it.

However, he had some friends that thought that his idea was a good investment and decided to help.The shop turned to be not just successful but it became so popular that Levi had to think about getting more raw material, and he could hire more people. But Levi wasn’t the only successful man in the beverage business, and life was full of ironies.

Right in front of the tea shop, in the opposite corner of the front street, was the biggest and geekest coffee shop of the city _Titan's Café_. All the nerds and geeks of the city tend to gather there not just because the beverages were named after popular tv, movies or comics’ character, nor because of the excellent coffee, but also because the barista was cute has hell.

The barista had the greenest eyes anyone has ever seen, a smile that could be the cause of the melting ice caps and few people knew that Eren Jaeger, the charming barista of Titan’s Café, was also the one that came up with the concept of the coffee shop.

Irony being said, one of Eren’s best friend, that lend him money to put the shop, was working in _Damn Tea_ and had found the place. Mikasa Ackerman had found the spot for the coffee shop when she accompanied Levi to find a place for his shop. Levi didn’t know that Mikasa was the one to blame for what he thought was the “shittiest idea ever, fucking coffee lovers with no taste” or he wouldn’t have accepted having her working for the summer in the shop.

Even when their shops where in the opposite corner of a crossroad neither Levi nor Eren had seen each other after 3 years of opening their respective places. Eren knew that the owner of Damn was a shorty man that was always angry and cursing; Levi knew that the owner of Titan’s made terrible jokes and that was Mikasa’s acquaintance. And neither of them had a Mark.

The Mark appeared when you made skin contact with the person that was destined to be your soulmate, or that was what the grandparents said. Both Eren and Levi had being told this tale when they were little and they got curious about a mark in their grandparents hands. Grisha, Eren’s father, used to tell his son that it was just a tale to explain a kitchen accident while Keny, Levi’s father, used to tell Levi that he was an idiot for believe in such things as love. Neither of their parents had the Mark.

People didn’t get their Mark in those days, they usually would get married with the first person they thought it would be a good partner or with someone that had a “good chemistry” with them. The Mark tell wasn’t told to the youngest anymore and quickly it became just another fairy tale to tell before sleeping time. That was the world. Love was just another dream to deal with reality. Love was just another irony of life. On a Saturday morning Mikasa asked Levi to have the day off because it was her friend’s birthday.

"So what?" said Levi keeping his eyes in the book that he was reading in one of the tables that was outside the shop -So, I’m not working today- answered Mikasa crossing her arms

"Come on! Is just a day and Hanji was going to work mi turn" Levi turned his deadly grey eyes to Mikasa.

How was having to deal with Hanji a good argument? Hanji was crazy and if she was going to work all day he would have to leave early. Even if Hanji was his best friend sometimes being around her was just exhausting and he couldn’t slept last night.

"LEEEEVI" yelled a pitched voice form inside the store –DON’T BE MEAN!-

"Tch, ok go before I change my mind" said the short man closing his book and missing the big bright smile on Mikasa’s face while the girl turned to thank Hanji before leaving

Levi took a deep breath, still with his eyes closed and leaned against the back of the chair. He had hoped to spend the morning in the shop thinking that Mikasa would be there. His cousin was just as silent as him and she understood how Levi liked his tea. Sometimes she would even surprise Levi giving him a cup of the tea he was thinking about ordering and smiling to him.

"Mikasa looked really nice today" someone said next to him, standing at the entrance of the shop

"Hmm?" mumbled Levi opening his eyes to look at Hanji who was looking at Titan’s

"I think Mikasa has a thing for Eren" the grin in Hanji’s face was devilish.

She knew that Eren wasn’t Levi’s favorite topic Eren’s reputation preceded him. Everyone knew about the handsome and gentle barista that gave his brightest smile to anyone that went to Titan’s. It was a rumor that Titan’s success was thanks to him, and Levi couldn’t care less about the boy but anything related to that coffee shop made her blood boil -What does the barista has to do with this?- asked Levi spiting the boy’s name

"Well, it’s Eren’s birthday, you know?" answered Hanji

"Yeah, so? The fucking coffee shop is giving free donuts or something?" the discomfort in Levi was getting higher, he knew he was missing something but couldn’t put his finger in it.

"Maybe, I’m not sure to be honest" said Hanji thinking about the food

"Well, who cares if it’s Eren’s birthday or not? What does that have to do with Mikasa anyway?" Levi’s gaze was at Titan’s and those green balloons in the entrance of the coffee shop

"Really Levi? How many days now?" Hanji’s tone was all business now and she was waiting for an honest answer, the look on her face made it clear.

"I don’t know what you are talking about" was the lame answer Levi could come up with in that moment

"Yeah? When you can’t sleep for more than 3 days you just can’t put one and one together" answered Hanji exasperated "Mikasa isn’t working because it’s her friend’s birthday. It’s Eren’s birthday. Mikasa knows Eren. She dressed nice for his birthday."

Levi’s head turned to Hanji so fast and his eyes were so opened that, for a moment, the exasperated woman thought that he had hurt himself.

"Mikasa went to the fucking café?!" was all Levi asked glazing between Hanji and the shop that he hated.

"… yeah" cautiously answered Hanji before going inside the tea shop leaving a confused Levi outside.

Levi’s mind was a mess. Part of him saw that act, Mikasa going to Titan’s, as one the worst treasons ever while other part of him saw it as treason, but not the worse of them. But then he stopped thinking about her cousin and more about Titan’s owner. Yeah, Mikasa said something about him but Levi thought that she knew him not that he was one of Mikasa’s friends. He was sure that Mikasa had said Eren’s name before, but every time someone talked about Titan’s or Eren he just left o ignored them. He didn’t know Eren personally but who in his right mind would rather have coffee than tea? Who would name an americano as Vader just because it was dark and strong? That was fucking racist and stupid

"Stop thinking, drink this" Hanji interrupted his thoughts putting a vase of tea in front of him "Mikasa left it for you" continued his friend when she saw how those grey eyes looked suspiciously at the paper cup

"Why is it in a paper cup and not in a real cup?" asked Levi

"Because Mikasa forgot her cellphone and you are going to go and give it to her" said Hanji in a mischievous tone 

"I’m not going there" just the idea of going near a coffee lover made him shiver

"You are because Mikasa is a good person and I have to be here and smile to the costumers" replied Hanji "or… I could go and you could smile to the costumers"

And just as Hanji was finishing his phrase Nile Dawk parked his car in front of Levi. Nile was a regular customer and he bought big amounts of tea every week, but it was one of the most irritating people in the world and Levi hated him. As Nile closed his car Levi took the damned cell phone and his tea, because he couldn’t do it without the tea, and got up to cross the street.

A few meter from the coffee shop and he could hear people laughing and load music. How did people could take things like this? It was so noisy and the smell of coffee was so strong that his nose was getting itchy. He took another sip of his tea and crossed one last time just as someone was leaving Titan’s without noticing him.

It was just too fast. Levi was finally in the correct corner and he was about to enter the damned coffee shop looking for Mikasa when someone was quickly leaving the place without looking at the front. If it had been any other day Levi would have just avoided the person that was leaving stepping to a side, but his mind wasn’t working right that day thanks to the lack of sleeping and rest.

"Shit" was the last thing Levi heard before his butt collided to the ground

The other person ended on top of him, but he could put his hands on the ground and avoided to crush Levi. Green worried eyes were looking right to grey irritated eyes. A big tanned body was covering Levi’s short and pale, as a dear’s ass. Brown eyebrows were raised in worrisome while Levi looked at the lips of the owner, who was saying something.

"I’m sorr…" said the tanned boy as he backed off, touching Levi’s hand in the process

That touch sent sparks through Levi’s body and his mind was suddenly more awoke than in the last three days. And just as the same time that the sparks started a hot burning sensation appeared in his chest.

"Jesus Fucking Christ" cursed the short man when he saw his hot tea in his chest and pants and his paper cup laying empty next to him "You are just a fucking clumsy son of a bitch, aren’t you? Couldn’t you use those fucking eyes to see before running like a motherfucker rhino into someone?"

Levi’s eyes were scanning his clothes to see the damage. His long sleeve white shirt was now sticky and with a big red stain from his abdomen to his crotch. Thank God his crotch hadn’t really suffered the attack or the brat would have ended dead. It was a pain in the ass to have that stain, but he could close his black waistcoat and ignore it for a while.

"Damn it!" cursed Levi again seeing that he would have to put the washing machine before of what he had thought "where is that fucking cellphone"

The cellphone laid between the boy’s and Levi’s hand.

The boy made a move to reach it when a female voice came from Titan’s door

"Eren? Are you okay?" asked Mikasa as she ran to the tanned boy "What happened?"

Eren’s eyes were fixed on the floor, his mind trying to explain what was happening while Mikasa talked. Levi was lost at words, his eyes looking directly at the muted brat in front of him. That clumsy boy that ran into him was Eren? The same fucking Eren owner of barista of Titan’s? -Levi? What are you doing here- Eren’s eyes got bigger than before after hearing Levi’s name.

"You forgot your phone" said Levi looking at Mikasa and pointing at the cellphone with his head "and then this dipshit head ran into me"

"It was an accident" said Eren looking at Levi with a mix of anger and worrisome "I wasn’t paying attention and.."

"Yeah, that was for sure. I bet you can’t even fucking tie your shoes without burning something" said Levi closing his waistcoat and rolling up one of his sleeves, letting some of his tattoos at plain sight "Look at this, at least is tea and not that garbage you make here"

"Excuse me?" said Eren looking a bit more irritated

"Eren he is just…" tried to said Mikasa but was cut off by Levi

"You heard me. What a fucking waste of space. Coffee is one of the most disgusting things" continued Levi while he got up

"Coffee is art, not like tea. Hot water and leafs? Pff such a joke, at least coffee helps people when they have stay up all night" answered Eren now angry at the little man

"Just for you information, brat, tea has caffeine too you ignorant ass." Levi’s eyes glinted with danger and just before he could say something Mikasa got up

"Levi! Please!" the look in the girl’s eyes stopped whatever mean thing he thought to say to Eren

"Whatever, I’m not going to waste my time with this" was the last thing he said before turning and going back to this tea shop

Eren got up and used all his will power to remain silence as the shorty asshole crossed the street. Levi’s and Eren’s blood was boiling, anger running in their veins and they both could feel still a spark of electricity in the fingers of their hands. None of them noticed the mark that laid in his right and left hand…


	2. Consequences part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe that this thing got kudos and comments, like wow and I'm sorry for: a) updating until now b) it wasn't supposed to end there. BTW, this mind end up with smuth so I'm might change the rating latter, and I'm going to be adding tags as I add characters so.. that

After his encounter with Levi, Eren’s day had gone from “freaking awesome” to “I need to punch someone to feel okay again” His birthday party officially started at noon at Jean’s place, because throwing your birthday party in your house meant that you had to clean latter and Eren didn’t like to clean.

Jean and Eren had known each other since kinder, and since that moment they were fighting and in a constant battle to prove who was better. They usually just shit talk about each other and their argument wouldn’t end up until Mikasa or Armin would tear one of them apart from the other. Every single time they saw each other they ended up fighting, it didn’t matter if it was a friendly argument or not, they always had to be on the opposite side of any matter.Only, this time their argument ended up in a fist fight.

Who started it? Nobody knew, they just knew that the first one to throw a punch to the other was Eren. The teal eyed boy had been in a bad mood since morning, after his not so good meeting with the Damn Tea’s owner. He had known that Levi was an angry, bad mouthed, short man and that, from some unknown reason to him, he hated Eren. 

Sadly for Jean, Eren couldn’t let the anger from the meeting go and he decided, unconsciously, to take it out on him.

“EREN! STOP!” the brunette heard someone said as a pair of hands tried to lift him from Jean

Eren wasn’t thinking straight, his mind was clouded and all he knew was that he needed to punch someone. He felt all this energy inside of him, an unknown energy, which was begging to spill out. When cold water make contact with his face, his minded cleared a bit just to understand what had happened.

In front of him, Mikasa had a glass that was the source of the water. She was looking at him with a mix of anger and worry in her eyes and the hands that were holding him suddenly released him. On the floor, behind Mikasa, Armin was helping a Jean with a bloody nose to rise.

“Fuck, Jaeger! The hell is wrong with you?!” said Jean looking at him

Eren felt lost. He didn’t know what had happened. He didn’t remember how it all ended like that. In that moment he just needed to rung from that place and from his friends.

“Just—I’m—fuck” his hand hurt and he looked between his friend “sorry… I need to go” and before someone could stop him he left taking advantage of the confusion of the moment.

He run from Jean’s home to his home, even when it wasn’t a short distance. What the fuck had happened there? Where did all that anger come from? He didn’t know. All he knew was that the running had helped a little with the bolt of energy he had felt, but still he didn’t feel calm, he was anxious without an apparently reason.

He yelled in frustration and punched a wall with his right hand. Closing his eyes he rested his head on the wall and took a deep breath trying to calm himself. After a few moments he opened his eyes and looked at the blood in his hand and wall, he sighed and went to bed tossing his phone in the couch.

The next morning Eren stayed home and in bed until noon. He only got up to clean the mess of the wall, because he knew that if you didn’t clean blood off a wall then later it would be harder to do it. He also took a bath, because he smelled and tried to watch something on T.V. He gave up when he realized that his mind wasn’t on the show, but he was glad that he wasn’t really thinking about anything else really. 

Still he could feel something strange; it was like having a knot in your stomach. It was a deep, not fun nor good, feeling that wouldn’t leave him alone. He felt like something was missing and that was making him anxious. He took his phone, ignored all the texts and calls from Mikasa and Armin and decided to go to bed.

It quarter wasn’t past four a.m. when he gave up to sleep, after three hours of laying on bed, and he got up starting his morning. The shop didn’t open until 9 a.m., so he decided to clean his room and kitchen to kill sometime; he just felt the need to clean. He took his time and at 6:30 a.m. he made breakfast and dressed up.

On Mondays, Armin was the one on charge to open the shop and start the machines before 8:30 a.m. So, when that morning the blond tried to open the shop with this key and found it open already he almost called the police. 

“Jesus Christ” said Armin when Eren appeared behind the coffee bar. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m… cleaning?” said Eren showing Armin the cloth in his left hand

“I can see that. What I mean is what are you doing here? I open on Monday because it’s easier to wake up a dead than make you came here early” replied the blond while he walked to the back store to put his things there 

“Oh, well… I just couldn’t sleep so I needed to do something” 

Armin eyed him suspiciously but said nothing. He put on his apron and looked at the place. He decided to re arrange the chair and the tables since everything else was pretty much done. 

“So…” said the blond making Eren look at him from the machines “did you enjoy your birthday party?”

Eren had avoided thinking about that they, but when the blond mentioned the party all came back to the brunet’s memory and he felt like crap. Suddenly he was aware of the knot on his stomach, which had been in the back of his mind thanks to the cleaning and punching stuff, and the memories of a bloody Jean didn’t help.

“Is… is Jean okay?” asked Eren avoiding Armin’s gaze and pouring the coffee beans in the machine

“He is okay. He has a black eye, though” Eren cringed at that 

“… what did he say? You had never hit him before”

When Armin didn’t get and answer he just sighted and let go. He knew Eren was acting strange, but he also knew that pushing him wouldn’t make any good. The blond listened as the machine started to work and, with a last look to the shop, he went to change the sign to open. Being Monday morning mean dealing with “zombies”, people that work and that weren’t able to work without coffee so it was really the most tired day of the week.

Since the first hour the place was crowed and the machines were working at their full capacity. At one moment between 9 and 9:30 Sasha and Connie appeared and Eren start multitasking between making the coffees and giving them to the people. He made himself smile and forget about anything that wasn’t pouring coffee, but it wasn’t quite working. A burst of energy was starting to form inside of him again and his mind was wandering to what was he feeling rather on what was he doing. 

“Fuck” mumbled Eren when he spilled just made coffee on his right hand

He looked at Armin and when the blond saw him he ordered Eren to go to the back and pour some water in his hand. Disoriented and not feeling in the mood to smile to the costumers Eren obeyed his friend and went to the back room. 

He stood in front of the sink and sighed. Suddenly he felt very tired, but with some unreleased energy. He felt like he needed to run, but he was too tired to run and the knot in his stomach wouldn’t leave he felt like he was missing something and it didn’t make sense.

“Eren?” came a voice behind him “are you okay?”

“I’m okay, Armin” when he opened the water and put the and under it he lowly cursed

“Let me look at it” said Armin moving next to his friend

“I said I’m okay, Arm. And I need you outside, you know how Mondays are” he just wanted to be alone, he didn’t want to be near someone or dealing with anything right now

“You are not fine, Eren Jaeger, and we are okay. Sasha and Connie are doing an excellent job” 

Armin put some soap in his hands before putting them under the water to scrub Eren’s right hand. Eren closed his eyes and let his friend do whatever he wanted; he was just too tired and confused to care about anything right now. A rush of calmness hit him, and he felt relative calm for some minutes before feeling all anxious again.

“Sit, I’m going for the cream to put you some” said Armin releasing his hand and cleaning his in his apron. 

Eren nodded and took a sit in the nearest chair. His eyes looked, for the first time in all the weekend, at his hand. It was red, really really red and his knuckles were still bloody.

“Well, boss” said Armin putting emphasis in the last word and making Eren smile “if you are going to be this clumsy today I’m going to need to ask you to leave” 

“You said it yourself” said Eren looking at his best friend “I’m the boss, you can’t make me leave”

Armin smiled and started massaging his hand with cream, while Eren rested the back of his head on the wall. Feeling the cooling cream ease the burnt in his hand was so nice that, he almost fell asleep 

“—ren? Eren!” Armin’s voice made him full conscious again 

“what?!” 

“I asked you what happened to your hand?”

“What do you mean? I spilled coffee on it and I punched Jean two days ago, you were there every time” answered Eren feeling clueless while Armin looked at him with worry 

“I have known you all my life, and you haven’t had this mark until today”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, I'm just super tired and couldn't really end the chapter. I promise to update the other part, after writing it, this week.
> 
> First: thank you for your kudos and comments -omg I really couldn't believe it- TBH I wasn't going to keep going but your comments and kudos made me write this, so i'm doing this for you
> 
> Second: again, comments and recommendations, or saying my mistakes in grammar or anything, are really welcome. Just, be kind? Thank you


	3. Consequences part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren remember things that he doesn't want to remember and Levi is too tired to be a 100% asshole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still can't believe you guys like this, thank you for your comments, I love comments.

A mark. In Eren’s mind appeared the memory of his grandmother talking to him about her love story with grandpa, she talking about the mark of their soulmates and all the wonderful things she had said about having a soulmate and a bond. For a moment he was excited about this possibility, but it was just for a moment.  
Maybe it was because of the wall he thought

He looked at his hand and at the strange pattern that had never been there and that had his friend worried. It had any resemble with anything Eren had seen before. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. He could hear his father’s voice mocking him for thinking that someone was destined to be with him, he could hear him perfectly

 _Who would like to be with someone like you?_ his father voice had told him

He could remember her mother crying, unable to protect them; he could remember the blood in his hands…

“Eren?”

  
The brunet flinched when his friend’s hand touched his shoulder making him leaver his memories. Armin was looking at him just as he looked at him three years ago, just before he opened Titan’s. He had the same worried expression that he saw when he woke up in that hospital bed and the same expression he swore that he would do anything to not have to look at it again in Mikasa’s or Armin’s face.

“… I don’t know what that can be, Arm” said Eren after taking a deep breath

“You have been acting strange…” said Armin in such a low voice that, for a moment, Eren thought it was just his brain talking to him

“Couldn’t sleep last night, remember? I’m okay” Eren smiled to his friend before messing up his hair

Armin sighed and left the topic. His attention was once again in his friends hand and in the pattern that now adorned it. It covered the palm of the hand and part of the back and wrist; it looked like if it were part of the skin of Eren’s hand.

“It can’t from a clumsy accident” said Armin without taking his eyes from the mark “It’s like a white tattoo, like the one… ”

Armin shifted uncomfortable in his sit; he didn’t want to say anything more. He knew Eren would get it and when his friend nodded the blond knew that he had understood him. Eren was still looking at his hand and Armin was right, even if the pattern was way different it the way it looked –like it was a scar or a tattoo, something not natural but an undeniable part of him- was like theirs.

“Guys, we could use a pair of hands over here” called Connie barely opening the door and making both friends jump

“We better help them or Sasha is going to set fire to the store” said Eren sighing and standing up

He still was tired, and the knot in his chest hadn’t disappeared and now he felt something strange. He felt like a pull, like being anxious and knowing that you needed to be somewhere else, but not knowing where. He went back to work hoping that the feeling would banish.

Some hours later the feeling was still there and Eren’s chest was heavy. The anxiety had increased with every minute and he felt the need to get out of the store. So when Armin told him that Mikasa wanted to have lunch with them he was glad to have an excuse to leave. Marco would enter any moment for his turn so he could leave everything to him.

“Sure” said Eren taking off his apron “Should we wait for her or should we go? We are going to the same place, right?”

“Right. Maybe we can go and pick her up” said Armin also taking his apron and changing his clothes

“So, we are going to her house?” asked Eren pulling off his shirt, he could use any clothes at work but he decided to wear the same uniform as the others

“…” Armin sighed and closed his eyes in defeat “You remember that Mikasa has a half part job, right?”

“Yeah, sure…” Eren lied “she said she was going to work with his cousin, so we are going to her cousin’s store? It’s a bookshop or something, right?”

“Eren” the brunet knew he was in trouble because that tone of voice was the one that Armin used when he was being childish “Mikasa’s cousin is Levi. The owner of the tea shop that’s in the opposite corner”

“What?!” before Armin could do anything the teal eyed boy had rushed off the coffee shop and was crossing the streets

Eren felt betrayed and mad at Mikasa for working for the little asshole that said shit about his store last Saturday. How could his very best friend, his sister from another family, do this to him? How could she have preferred to work on a Tea Shop instead of in Titan’s? He could have give her a job!

Anger was blocking the sound of Armin’s voice yelling his name while arrived to the opposite street. He was ready to enter the shop and confront Mikasa when he noticed two people sitting in the table next to the entrance. One of them was Levi, whom was looking at his cup of tea while the other person, a pony tailed woman, held his hand. Eren frowned when he saw that Levi’s hand was between the woman’s hands.

They were talking about something, but just as Eren put a foot in the street Levi’s eyes were on him. In that moment, all the anger, anxiety and the knot in Eren’s chest disappeared. Now he just felt the urge to go to the little asshole man and be next to him, something that wasn’t going to happen even he was just a few steps from him.

“Eren, stop!” said Armin putting his hands over his knees when he reached his friend “Just.. don’t ‘kay?” said the blond taking a deep breath trying to steady his heart

Eren gaze was still on Levi when Armin arrived and he made himself look at his friend just to not look at the short man anymore. Why was he still looking at him in such an intense way? What was Levi thinkin? Who was that woman and why he had Levi’s hand? Anger was rising again at that thought when he noticed that, for the first time in all day, the knot in his chest had disappeared. Why did he felt so calm by just looking at the short asshole he hated?

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Levi’s voice was as rude as usual, but Eren somehow knew that he was really tired

Once again Eren looked at Levi and they both stare at each other in silence. Levi wanted an answer, he didn’t like Eren and after they encounter last Saturday he never thought of having him in his shop. But, having the tall boy there made Levi felt calm something that he didn’t felt since Saturday…

“We are picking up Mikasa to take her for luch, sir” answered Armin noticing the silence exchange betweet Eren and Levi and feeling like he was interrupting something.

Eren had been so immerse looking at Levi that he didn’t notice that the woman had been watching at him since his arrival. She had had seen how Levi’s posture and eyes had changed when the brat had arrived and it was a really curious thing, and after hearing what the blond had said she stood up abruptly almost making the tea fell in the table.

“So you are Mikasa’s friends!” yelled and in seconds she was in front of the boys “Hello, my name is Hanji! I work with Mikasa”

Eren frowned at her when she hugged him and didn’t bother to say something. Levi sighed and stood up and put a hand on Hanji’s shoulder. Eren saw that the other man’s right hand was bright red, a huge contrast with the white of the rest of his arm.

“Hanji, back off” murmured Levi pulling the crazy woman a few steps from the boys. “Even if they had the poor taste to work in a coffee shop they don’t deserve to be crushed by you”

But before another word could be said, and Eren was just ready to call Levi a midget and say shit about tea, Mikasa came through the door.

“Guys! What are you doing here?!” said the girl making Eren forget about Levi for a moment and remembering why he was there

“Mikasa! How could you?!” cried the brunet putting his hands on her friends shoulders

“What are you talking about Eren?” said Mikasa feeling clueless about her friend’s attitude

“How could you work here?” said Eren feeling betrayed and making a horror face, like if he were talking about ghosts or big titans eating humans

“What?” said Mikasa again “Eren I told you that I worked here since the beginning of summer!” she shook Eren’s hands off her

“That’s not true!”

“It is!” said Mikasa exasperated by Eren’s childish behavior

“Is not!” Eren crossed his arms in front of his chest and kept looking at Mikasa

“I told you in your home but you were playing a fucking videogame!” said Mikasa now angry

At that Eren remembered the last time they were at his home. He had being trying to pass the last bad boss of the game for the last three weeks and he had almost threw console’s control at the wall

He knew Mikasa had being saying something and that at some point she got mad and left. Next day Armin was telling him that Mikasa had being telling them that she was going to work half time in his cousin shop, and that she left because Eren was too busy playing videogames to pay attention.

“But you never said that it was at… this” his arms moving like trying to point at the whole store

“Careful there, brat” said Levi that had been looking at the exchange amused, he would never accept that the thing that was looking at was Eren and his expressions. Never. “This is not some shit like that shop of yours”

“What did you say, midget?!” Eren’s attention was once again in Levi, ready to fight the little man and make him regret every single word he had said

“Stop that, you two!” said Mikasa stepping between the two of them knowing that both men would punch each other if he didn’t do something

Hanji, for other part, was just standing there watching Levi and Eren interact with a glimpse of amusement in her eyes.

“How can you be here, Mikasa? Working with this asshole?! How can he be your relative?” having blocked the sight of the other was making both of them anxious, but they were so angry at what the other had said that neither of them notice that they were anxious

Eren was talking without thinking, and was making everything worse, thanks to the anxiety. Not that Levi didn’t deserved it for the shit he had said last time they met, and not that what was Eren saying wasn’t something he thought. Meanwhile Levi’s breathing was becoming faster but he thought it was just the anger of listening to the shit the brat was saying.

“Beside, tea?!” continued Eren “They are just fucking wet leaves!”

At that Levi growled and Hanji had to put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from punching Eren.

“Eren Jaeger you stop that right now” said Mikasa taking Eren bry the front of his shirt, leaving Levi frozen in shock “You have been acting weir all weekend and then you punched Jean!”

The emphasis the girl had put in the last part of the sentence made Eren’s face shift to a pained expression and his eyes dropped. Levi felt remorse in his chest, a remorse that wasn’t his, and he worried for Eren for a few seconds. Eren was now not looking at Mikasa as she scolded him

“You promised Eren!”

“I know” said the boy in a low voice without meeting anyone’s eyes

“If you are having problems, you should tell us” said Mikasa looking at Eren with a worried expression

Eren said nothing and did nothing. Levi had never see the brat like that and it was strange looking at Eren like this when all he had ever listened about the brunet was about his smile and charming personality. Now he looked defeated and remorseful. Something was worrying him, Levi knew, but he didn’t know what have the brat like that. Both of the brat’s friends were looking worried at him, and Levi didn’t understand why. Mikasa sighed

“Come on, we are going for lunch” she said and tried to take Eren’s right hand but just touching it make her friend hiss in pain

“Eren had accidentally spilled coffee in his hand” said Armin to Mikasa and she shut shook her head before pulling her friends towards

Levi and Hanji looked at the trio leave and said nothing for a while. Hanji looked at his friend that couldn’t keep his eyes from Eren and then looked at the hand that she had been holding a while ago.

“I’m going home” said Levi after a while and leave

“Now… that was interesting” chuckled Hanji and entered the shop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might upload next chapter on sunday? I was going to upload it tomorrow but.. So, what do you think?


	4. Lasso~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PLOT! Finally plot!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I had this started and I kinda hated last chapter. Also, I think Mikasa is OOC? I'm sorry :( Well, that's it. See you next week or maybe in two weeks? -I just noticed this chapter is like, the biggest one yet sorry-

Lunch was pretty weird with a silent Eren that didn’t take part of any of the conversations their friends were having. His thoughts were in the fact that he had punched someone and that his anger had been out of control lately. Also he was thinking in Levi, in those gray eyes that were so filled with anger every time he saw him and in how much he had wanted to punch him. He sighed and played with his soda while Armin and Mikasa exchanged worried looks between them and occasionally looked at Eren. After a while they decided to go back to job, but Eren just decided to go home and leave in the opposite direction of them

“He had been acting weird all day” said Armin while he and Mikasa walked to the tea shop

“Levi had been acting weird, too” comment Mikasa just as they entered Damn Tea and entered “You think Eren’s is back at it again?”

“I don’t know” said Armin honestly “I hope not, I don’t think so. He is just out of it, like he is not his usual self”

Mikasa nods to let her friend know that she understood and try to stop thinking about the worst case scenario with an Eren lying in a hospital bed again. 

“Come, I have like fifteen minutes before going back to work, you want a tea or something?” said Mikasa as they entered Damn tea

But before they could do anything, a really excited Hanji appeared from nowhere and passed her arms around the couple’s shoulders. 

“So guys!” she said looking at one and another with a huge grin in her lips “what do you know about soulmates?”

Not knowing the woman, Armin looked in distress at Mikasa. Had he entered Wonderland? Was that woman actually sane enough to be around other people? Mikasa gave the blond a look to easy him, she herself had had a rough time to adjust to Hanji

“You are scaring Armin” said Mikasa giving Hanji a disapproval look that made the older woman see the resemblance between Mikasa and Levi

“Petra! You are on charge” yelled Hanji while he dragged Armin and Mikasa to the back of the shop “So? What do you know?”

Hanji looked between Mikasa and Armin trying to see if they would say something. Armin looked really out of his comfort zone, so he might not be comfortable enough to say a thing, she thought. And Mikasa, well Mikasa had the same bored expression that Levi wore every day, one might have thought that those too could actually be brother and sister instead of cousins.

An idea had been on Armin’s mind since he had found the mark on Eren’s hand, but he couldn’t actually put his finger on it. It was more like a feeling, like a memory that he couldn’t quite remember. Meanwhile Mikasa just looked at Hanji like if she had, for sure, lost her mind. Minutes passed, and just when Hanji was about to give up and talk, Armin’s eyes widened like if he had just found the answer to the mysteries of the Universe.

“My grandfather used to tell me a story, just before to bed” he started looking at Mikasa “about soulmates and a mark when I was little” 

Mikasa arched an eyebrow and tried to remember the times that she, and Eren, used to spend in Armin’s grandfather’s house when they were clumsy infants.

“But is just a bedtime story” finished Armin looking between the woman in the room

“Or not” said Hanji smiling like if she was trying to impersonate the Cheshire Cat “You said Eren had been acting weird, right? Let me guess, it all started on Saturday after meeting Levi?”

Now it was Mikasa’s turn to look at Hanji, had she been spying on them? 

“Well, it started on Saturday” said Armin

“It was after meeting with Levi” said Mikasa after a pause, not sure enough to participate in this conversation “but Levi was an asshole with him and Eren is just a hotheaded guy that doesn’t know what to do with his anger” 

Hanji nodded and continued

“Maybe he is, but then again… Eren had an accident today with a hot beverage, right?” Armin nodded “ Well, Levi had been complaining about his hand after he got here and it was bright red without a reason”

“Levi told me that he had spilled some tea” said Mikasa remembering when Levi had cursed for nothing that morning

“He was lying, he doesn’t want you to worry” Hanji smiled at Mikasa with tenderness before looking at the blond again “Tell me, Armin, does Eren has a strange pattern in his hand? A pattern that hadn’t been there before?” 

“… Yeah” Armin’s voice was low

“What?! Armin, what are you talking about?!” said Mikasa trying to keep her calm and her overprotectiveness of Eren at bay, and failing

“When he burnt his hand I put some cream on and I found a strange pattern in it. It looks like a scar, but it can’t be a scar… I don’t know how to explain it okay?” Armin took a deep breath and prepared himself for the next “It looked like Reiner’s, but is not the same pattern”

“But, wasn’t that from their group?” Mikasa’s hands were sweating and her voice wasn’t steady as usual “It was something to identify the participant’s, wasn’t it? What if Eren is back at that? He was doing okay! We need to help him, Arm”

All the worse cases scenarios where passing in Mikasa’s mind and before she could notice she had stood up and was going to the door. She needed to talk to Eren and be sure that he wasn’t back in those steps. He couldn’t be back! Armin and Mikasa had had a hard time trying to convince him to leave them and he had sworn to never be back there again, and then he had opened Titan’s and it all seemed okay.

“Woah there!” said Hanji stopping the raven haired girl from going “I don’t know what are you talking about, nor what you are thinking, but it seems like something horrible and I’m almost sure is not that”

“How can you be sure?! You said it yourself, you don’t know what we are talking about” said Mikasa trying to shake Hanji’s grip off

“Listen to me okay? Just a moment. I’m almost sure that Eren and Levi are soulmates. A mark also appeared on Levi’s hand and he had been acting strange since Saturday, too”

“Hanji, stop it! That’s just a story okay? I need to make sure that Eren isn’t doing stupid things!” but before she could shake her free, another hand was suddenly in her shoulder

“Mikasa, just… let’s just hear what she has to say, okay?” said Armin smiling to her friend

Mikasa looked at Armin as if he had just punched her; she couldn’t believe what she was listening. It was just a silly bed time story for kindergarteners. But, Armin had always been a smart boy and the smarter of the three, and he was usually right, and even if it was just a fairy tale it was better than thinking about Eren in trouble. Mikasa sighed knowing that she had just been defeated, and that there was no way that Hanji was letting her go, and took a sit. 

“So what, you say that Eren and Levi, two people that hate each other and that can’t be near each other without arguing, are in love? Said Mikasa looking intensely at the older woman

“Well, no. Levi doesn’t even like Eren” said Hanji and rapidly continued when Mikasa buffed “Ok look, when someone finds their soulmate a mark appear in each one when they touch, and accordingly to Levi Eren touched his hand when they felt. The little man was washing his hands for almost 10 minutes after he came back”

“So, that’s why you think they are soulmates? Because Levi started acting strange after meeting with Eren?” asked Armin with curiosity

“Strange? No, it’s perfectly normal behavior. Levi is a clean freak!” chuckled Hanji “They are acting strange because of the bond”

“The bond?” interrupted Armin “Grandpa never said something about that”

“Well, usually the bond is formed when they know each other and it develops when they start to spend time with the other. A bond is the link between the soulmates, but it’s different for every couple. Some of them can sense the other-like if they are close or something-, some can feel what others are feeling, and some others can even talk through them. ” said Hanji looking at Armin and loving how the boy had been paying attention to her words

“But they haven’t been spending time with each other!” said Mikasa again. It was a stupid thing for them to be discussing such a fantasy thing when they could be helping Eren or at least making him admit that something had happened

“Exactly!” said Hanji smiling brightly to Mikasa and taking her by the shoulders “And that’s why both of them had been anxious, jumpy, irritable and so not themselves. The bond is making them know that they are missing something, that they need to be near the other, and that they need to get to know the other one”

With everything Hanji had said, until that moment, Eren’s behavior made sense to Armin.

“Eren was suddenly calm and more relaxed that he had been all morning, when we arrived here” said the blond boy remembering the change of attitude in his friend when they had arrived at Damn

Hanji looked at the boy and made a mental note about his intelligence and how useful it could be before saying “Yeah, Levi too” 

“But they hate each other! And it’s just a story!” said Mikasa again angry at how both of their friends where talking nonsenses 

“Is not a story” said Hanji and her eyes blighted behind her glasses when she looked at Mikasa again “It used to happen, there are records talking about it and investigations about soulmates. We used to find our soulmates, but it was rare. It was so rare that just one couple for every 5 were usually soulmates. Just a really small part of the population were lucky enough to find their soulmates”

“That’s just not possible” Mikasa’s voice was low, she knew that Hanji would never lie about investigations, and scientific stuff

“Just think about it Mikasa. How would you feel about knowing that there is someone that is THE one for you, but never finding it? Would you tell your kids about it? Would you tell them that there exists someone for them, but that they wouldn’t probably met them ever? Or would you just shut up about it and let them be with someone they thought it was the one? What would you want?” Hanji’s eyes didn’t leave Mikasa’s while she was talking and the girl could fill the intensity and the passion about the older’s words “Would you be with someone knowing that you have a soulmate out there, even when you knew that the possibilities of meeting that person where really low? Wouldn’t it be easier to be with someone not knowing about soulmates? Would you spend your life waiting for someone or would you be happy with someone that makes you happy?”

It was just too strange and complicated. But it did made sense. If people didn’t talk about soulmates it would be easier to be with whoever made you happy, and that was better than to wait for the perfect one that might never appear. 

“Also, knowing that you could never meet your soulmate led to people going crazy, and some other decided to been with no one if they were their soulmates and well, let’s say that for a moment the leaders of the world thought that humanity was going to end without people reproducing” said Hanji shrugging her shoulders and finally taking her hands off Mikasa

“But, if they tried to what? Suppress the knowledge of soulmates, how do you know so much?” asked the boy after a while; it was a complicated topic, but Armin’s mind was working fast to understand it

“Well, some people decided to ignore the government and hide the investigations, and with the Internet, let’s just say that they are smart people and that you can find anything on the Internet. There isn’t something that you can’t find when you how to search and what to look for” Hanji winked at the blond, and in that moment 

Armin knew that he didn’t want to annoy Hanji, never “Some other passed the knowledge to their sons through stories, that became the bed time stories and no one believes that bed time stories are part true.”

And, even if the logical part of her brain said that it made sense and that the government made crazy things, Mikasa couldn’t be sure about this. It was just too strange

“It’s just… How can be sure? Also, it doesn’t make sense. Levi really doesn’t like Eren” said the girl still a bit distressed 

“Oh darling, there’s a way to find out” said the woman, making a shiver run through Mikasa’s and Armin’s back “And Levi doesn’t like anyone, he used to hate me! He just needs to open up a bit”  
\--  
In his walk home, Eren couldn’t stop thinking about the mark and Levi. Unconsciously he had been squeashing his hand since he had left his friends. Maybe it wasn’t THE mark, maybe it was just a silly story to entertain children like his father had said, maybe he was sick. He could have this weird illness that made weird marks appear in his body and then he would die… 

Ah, dying. He wouldn’t have to worry about anything anymore. He knew Armin would take care of the business, and that he wouldn’t be dead much time. He was sure that Mikasa would bring him back to life just to kill him again. He had nothing to worry about.

And he couldn’t be Levi’s mate because Levi hated him. He couldn’t stand him and he had showed it since the first day they met. Besides, today he had almost punched him. Eren closed his right hand at the memory of Jean’s bloody face and suddenly he felt anxious. The need to punch something again was becoming stronger and he couldn’t let it win because he knew that if it gave in it would harder to leave that path again.

He had been an addict to the adrenaline of the fights, and it wasn’t just the adrenaline. He loved to feel how his body ached the next morning; he loved how he could sleep without any trouble after the fights and how he could make other beg. But he had quitted and promised Mikasa and Armin to never go back at that, and at them.

Sadly, lately the memories of those days were always on his mind. He had run off the store on Saturday because he had thought that Reiner had passed by and that was why he met Levi. Levi, the man that hated him. He shouldn’t care about that midget, he was an asshole and he had never cared about what people thought of him. 

Eren was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t notices that his feet had led him to a park; the same park where he and the trio would meet when he sneaked out of his house. They would meet them and the trio made those dark days better. Eren looked around and decided to sit behind the big tree, just as in past days

It had been a while now, almost four years. After he had quitted the Walls the trio didn’t show up at his door again. He had thought that they would text him after naming the café after their group, but nor Reiner, Berth nor Annie tried to make contact. Part of him was glad, he didn’t want to deal with Armin or Mikasa knowing that he had named his café after what the couple named “his dark days”

Mikasa and Armin where great, they were his best friends and they were family for him, but they didn’t understand. He accepted it; no one could understand shit like that if they didn’t live it. He had been able to hide out the bruises and broken bones for so long with titan’s help and they had taught him to do so. They had taught him to survive, to hide things from other to not worry them, and they had been his family too. 

For many years they those three had been there for him and he had been there for them. But then everything had changed, and even when he missed them sometimes, just as he missed the Walls, he knew that he had made the right decision. Eren sighed, everything seemed too much those days and he closed his eyes for a moment.

“Eren?”

\--  
For many times Levi had listened to his mother talk about the mark that his grandparent’s used to share. They had died a few years after Levi had been born, but both of them had loved him plenty; a proof of that was that they had left him, to their only grandson, all their money. Levi used to love his grandparent’s love story, which was until one day his father listened to his mother and beated her for telling him such “stupid things”

Levi had tried to defend her, but he was a child and he ended up in the floor, with a black eye, with her. After that incident he had told his mother that he didn’t want to hear about his grandparent’s anymore. He swore that one day he would be strong enough to defend his mother and every year, in his birthday, after his “birthday beating present” Levi would swear to her that someday they would run away.

Sadly, he couldn’t fulfil his promise. And he ended up with Kenny, his asshole father, for many years until he decided that enough was enough. And just when he had made up plans to run away someone approached him with a great offer, all he needed to do was to gather some information and he would be free. And so he did. Kenny ended up in jail and he was free without ending in some foster care.

He had proved that he needed no one and that he could take care of himself. He has been just fine by his own, he hadn’t had thought about other people that weren’t part of his life, until now. Here he was now thinking about certain brunet and his stupid face and how much he wanted to punch him. He knew that this entire soulmate thing was just stupid enough, and cheesy enough, that Disney would probably made a movie or a clip someday about it.

He also knew that the possibilities of finding your soulmate where the same possibilities of getting pregnant using a condom. One, because it was just impossible that something as a soulmate existed; second, because he was Levi Arckerman and shit like that didn’t happen to him. Even so, he squeezed his left hand and enjoyed the feeling of warmness invading him. He could feel some tenderness and loneliness, that wasn’t really his, filling his chest.

When Levi arrived home, there was a package at his door. It was a box without remittent and with his name written in big black letter in the upside part of it. Levi saw around his apartment door, but saw no one. Whatever this was, it couldn’t be good. He carefully took it, and entered his apartment. It wasn’t really heavy. Without wasting anymore time he opened and immediately cursed after seen its insides. 

He took his phone out and dialed to the one that had helped him the first time.

“Eyebrows” said Levi without giving Erwin a chance to say hi “the bastard is back”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you think? Is it horrible? too many things? Comments? Also, I love that song and... I was going to say I put things on my tumblr about this fic, but I actually just complain about "not know what to write next" so.. nothing
> 
> Just tell me what you think


	5. Must get out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you don't say it then it isn't real, right? RIGHT?!

   
Eren’s mood had brightened up the last days, or so it seemed to Armin, his friend had been happier and his smiles were reaching his tealed eyes more frequently, one could say that Eren was his usual self. Still, sometimes the brunet was anxious and more than once his gaze would wander to the door and it would lay there for minutes. Sometimes he even looked like he was fighting himself to not do something, and after the conversation that Armin had with Hanji and Mikasa the blonde was sure that his friend was looking at Damn Tea and he was struggling to not go there.

As Eren’s mood changed, so did Levi’s. Sadly the raven’s mood didn’t become brighter; instead he just became anxious and more aware of his surroundings. Hanji knew that something was wrong, but she also knew that Levi would tell her when he felt ready. From time to time she would notice Levi’s gaze on the opposite corner, looking right to Titan’s while he ignored his tea in his usual spot, the table outside of Damn Tea. Sometimes she could hear her friend sigh, and instantly frown, before looking somewhere else.

“Is something wrong, Levi?” asked Hanji one afternoon after hearing Levi swear and throw his phone

“Everything is fucking wrong, and stupid fucking shithead Eyebrows isn’t going to be here until Friday” he growled in frustration and put his head on his hand, he just didn’t want to know anything

“You know it’s almost Friday, right?” said Hanji after a while and picking up his friends phone “and that know you have to buy another phone”

“What?”

“Levi, there is no way that this phone is going to work anymore” replied his friend pushing his phone to him

“For fucks sakes, I don’t give a damn about the phone” said the raven throwing the phone again “what do you mean that it’s almost Friday?”

“Oh, well… after Thursdays it comes Friday, and today is Thursday.” Levi’s blank face would had been comical in other occasion, but Hanji couldn’t laugh at his friend’s distress, even she wasn’t that bad. “You also agreed to go to Mikasa’s place on Friday, remember?”

Levi couldn’t believe it was already Thursday, but to be honest he wasn’t aware of anything those days. After the package he had to take precautions and his mind had been making plans and different scenarios about what could had happen and what would happen.

“Shit.” mumbled Levi remembering about Mikasa’s reunion.

“You can’t not go.” said Hanji looking at his friend “You need to relax and forget about whatever has you like this.”

Levi looked at the woman and frowned. There was something weird about this reunion and he knew it. Mikasa didn’t really make reunions at her place and if so she usually didn’t invite Levi, but it would be better than waiting in his apartment for Erwin.

“I had already agreed, hadn’t I?” said Levi and left without another word to Hanji

The moment Hanji saw Levi disappearing she texted Mikasa and Armin to let them know that everything was ready. She left the phone on the back of the store while she finished cleaning the cups and the tables. After locking down the place and taking the bus to her home, she took her phone out again and read the messages in the group.

Mikasa:  
[Still not sure about this]  
[What if we are wrong?]

Armin:  
[Don’t worry Mikasa, if we are wrong then we have nothing to worry about]  
[The worst thing that could happen is that we are going to have both of them fighting or ignoring each other]

  
Once again Hanji made a mental note about Armin, the boy was really smart and had a way to make Mikasa more manageable

Hanji:  
[Yeah, don’t worry]

Armin:  
[Maybe we do, I just texted Eren and he completely forgot about the reunion]

Hanji:  
[What?! No! Levi had forgotten too, but he is coming]  
[I’m going to drag him myself if I have to]

Mikasa:  
[…]  
[I’ll handle Eren]  
[Goodnight]  
\--  
Mikasa cornered Eren at Titan’s. The boy was giving Jean his cup of coffee, and just when the brunet was about to talk to the other one Mikasa entered the place eying Eren and making the boy takes a step behind. She was dead serious and the last time Eren had seen her like that a boy had ended up in the floor crying and begging for forgiveness. It had been such a spectacle that no one in high school dared to say something about Armin again.

“You are going to my house today” was all she had said to Eren

“O—okay” said Eren

Mikasa smiled and left the place without another word.

“Sometimes she is really scary” said Jean as both boys watched the girl go

“I know” was everything Eren could said

Things between Eren and Jean had been weird since the punching thing, but Marco worked at Titan’s so Jean just couldn’t stop going. Eren could swear that people got diabetes just from seeing the way Jean looked at Marco. It was a struggle not to throw the coffee in Jean’s face when that happened, whatever to make the horsefaced boy stop. It was just too sweet and frustrating because Jean didn't have the balls to go ask Marco out.

Eren looked at Jean, trying to figure out if he should say something, but when he saw Jean already looking at Marco he gave up. He shook his head and sighed as his own eyes wandered at where Mikasa had disappeared. From Jean’s table Eren could see Damn’s entrance, and just as his eyes scanned the tables outside the tea shop the knot, the permanent knot, in his chest grew.

When he saw a black haired person leaving the tea shop he obligated himself to stop looking and to go to the back of the shop. The anxiety hadn’t really left him, but he had been able to control it with exercise. Every time he felt the need to go to Damn he usually left the coffee shop to Armin or Marco to go for a run. Eren knew, although he tried to ignore, that the pull, the necessity to go, the feeling of longing, all of that replaced the anxiety but was as stronger as the last one or even strongest, when Levi arrived at the tea shop.

And once again, a few minutes after seeing the dark haired figure leaving the tea shop the anxiety arrived. His muscles were still aching from yesterday’s training so he opted for running that day. He left Marco, who was also looking at Jean as if he was some kind of prince, to close the door and left before he could ask his friend to go to a shrink because it wasn’t normal to be into animals.

Eren spent his afternoon running and taking a bath before going to Mikasa’s place. The hot water made his muscles ache even more, but that sensation was something that Eren loved and it calmed him. He wouldn’t be able to describe the pleasure that came with the pain when he felt when the water made contact with his body.

Eren looked up the place and quickly decide to go through the stairs instead of taking the elevator; Mikasa lived near him in the fourth floor of an apartment building. Just as he arrived to the floor and as he began regretting his decision of taking the stairs, his phone rang.

“Hello?” answered Eren not knowing the number

“Hey Jaeger” said the voice, that Eren immediately recognized, in the other extreme of the phone “Berth said that I should call to apologize, he thinks that I was a bit rough with you yesterday”

“It’s okay, I have had it worse” said the boy with a smile on his face remembering all those times when pulling his shirt off to take a bath were torture

“That’s what he said,” said the other person and Eren’s smile was wider after hearing that “still…”

The voice went mute and Eren sighed “It’s okay Reiner, I guess I deserve it”

As if saying the other person name was some kind of magic, the door opened and left Mikasa standing right in front of Eren.

“I have to go” said the brunet and hung up the phone hoping that Mikasa wouldn’t have listened; he wasn’t ready to deal with her reaction

“Eren?” said Mikasa and Eren felt relieved when he realized that she hadn’t really listened to him “I was about to go for you, you are late”

“Am I?” the brunet saw the hour and cursed “Sorry”

Mikasa shook his head but said nothing. Eren had been so worried about the call and not getting caught that he hadn’t really felt how the pull appeared again until it was too late. Sitting in the living room was Levi arguing with Hanji, or was arguing because when Eren entered Levi’s attention was on him. Levi’s attention was on him. Both of them looked at each other without saying anything and they massaged their marked hands.

Neither Levi nor Eren had actually seen each other since Eren’s lunch with Armin and Mikasa, and both of them had been trying to avoid the mark subject. For Levi it had been easier, the package had been all he could think about that week. For Eren it had been harder, but the training and keeping Mikasa and Armin from knowing about Reiner and Berth had helped a bit.

“—ren?” Mikasa had to shake Eren to gain his attention.

“What?” said the boy wanting to her friend to disappear so he could look at those grey eyes again

“Don’t you want to sit?” said the girl gesturing the sofa

Eren looked at the sofa, and Armin that was sitting in the living room too, for the first time and nodded. Everyone in the room felt how the air became ticker but none said anything. Levi’s gaze hadn’t left Eren since he arrived and Eren didn’t know how he felt about anything in that moment. It was just too weird. He didn’t want to look at Levi, but he didn’t want to not look at him. Even if the short man was an asshole he was attractive and his gaze was so intense that he didn’t need to look at him to know that those grey eyes were scanning him.

“So…” began Hanji just to be interrupted by Levi

“What the hell is this?” said the raven haired making Eren’s eyebrow raise and look at his friend

“What do you guys know about soulmates?” asked Armin suddenly.

“Soulmates?” said Eren taken by surprise.

Levi tensed in his seat when he understood everything. Eren felt a little panic rise inside of him, and so did Levi. Both of them could feel each other but both remained from giving any sign of that. They didn’t spend all week avoiding everything just to be busted by their friends. Eren decided to play it dumb, and when Levi noticed that he decided to follow the brunet’s steps.

“That’s next Frozen for Disney. Just another silly and stupid idea to sell the youth and made them believe that the world is wonderful and that love and good always win” said the raven frowning and not liking where this was going

Armin sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“Eren, you remember my grandpa’s bed time story about my parents?” said the blonde looking at his friend and knowing that he was avoiding this

“I don’t know what are you talking about, Arm,” chuckled the brunet, shifting uncomfortably in his seat “Your grandpa used to tell us many stories.”

“Come on Eren, you know what I’m talking about.” tried again the blonde

“Stop playing games, Eren” said Mikasa deadly serious “You know the story. About Armin’s parent’s mark and how his grandpa used to tell us that soulmates had marks that suddenly appeared when one found their soulmate.”

“Mark as the one you have on your hand” continued Armin and making Eren watch from one of his friends to the other

“Or like yours Levi” gently said Hanji feeling Levi’s discomfort grow.

Levi and Eren tried to hide their marked hand with the other one; they wanted to hide the mark from everyone. An impulse made both of them looks at each other and they realized that they were hiding their opposite hands. They knew, but if they didn’t say it then they could still deny it. Not saying it didn’t make it real. Eren knew it wasn’t real because Levi hated him and Levi knew it wasn’t real because he couldn’t have a soulmate.

“What I’m trying to say is that, we think… we are almost sure..” began Armin again

“You two are soulmates” interrupted Hanji with a grin and in such a happy way that if Levi hadn’t stood up he would have punched her.

“Bullshit.” said the short man and Eren suddenly felt anxious and angrier

Eren went mute; he didn’t really know what to say. He was angry but not at Levi, he was angry at the situation. He was uncomfortable and now, hearing it made everything real. The mark suddenly felt heavier and hot, but he still didn’t want to acknowledge it. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. This wasn’t real. It was just another fucking nightmare.

“Levi…” said Hanji again

“SHUT UP!” yelled Levi and the look in his eyes were scarier than ever.

Levi felt trapped. He didn’t like to feel like that, and he didn’t like how hot or heavier his marked hand felt. He looked at Eren and saw how lost the boy felt. Neither of them wanted this. Levi just couldn’t deal with this shit right now, not right now. So, he did what he knew best: he fucked up

“Look at him! I won’t be with a stupid brat like him!” said pointing at Eren and making the boy come back to reality

“Levi! You don’t even know him” said Hanji worried at how things were evolving, she had been ready for a shocked Levi but not for a Levi that felt trapped

“Why do I have to know? I don’t want to know him.”

Eren had been siting there listening, but every word made everything worse and suddenly he was as angry as the day he punched Jean. He stood up from his place and looked at Levi

“You listen fucking midget, I don’t want this either, but I’m not fucking saying shit about you am I? So stop it right now or…” Eren’s eyes were glowing and he’s shoulders were suddenly rigid, his body ready to react

“Or what? You fucking brat. What are you going to do? You think you can handle me?” the grin on Levi’s face wasn’t happy, it was intimidating, and the look in his eyes would have made anyone piss his pants.

And then Levi saw it. There was something in Eren’s eyes and posture that made him realize that Eren knew how to fight and that if they fought it would end badly. A part of him was begin to fight, to end this, it would be the quickest and easier way; it would make Eren leave and never approach Levi.

Eren saw Levi and his senses were waiting for any sign that would indicate the beginning of this fight. He would finally end this, he would show the midget who he was and to not mess with Eren Jaeger. Mikasa and Armin would yell at him, but he didn’t care in that moment; all he cared about in that moment was erasing that smirk and making the short man regret everything.

Neither Levi nor Eren realized that everyone had stood up, or that someone was knocking at the door, the only thing in their minds was the other. Eren waited for a punch, a punch that he was sure was coming because the hate in Levi’s eyes said was so intense that he just knew that the other man wouldn’t leave them otherwise.

“I don’t have time for this shit” muttered Levi and, giving Eren one more look from toes to head, and moved to leave

“Wait” said Eren, before Levi could take a step, and he took Levi’s hand, making both marked hands hold each other and making

A jolt goes through their bodies and their eyes go wide when they feel it before everything goes dark to both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea of how I'm going to make this idiots fall in love if they just keep fighting...
> 
> So... You like it? No?


	6. Your head on my shoulder -not really-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanji explains it all, and Levi is Levi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry! I was supposed to update this last week but I was sick and then I was lazy, I knew I had to write and it was a description but I just couldn't do it.
> 
> Also I want t thank Awkwardly_Me for beta-ing the story since last chapter, I have no words to thank you -because believe it or not I suck at this-

“What the hell Hanji!” yelled Mikasa after seeing how Eren and Levi vanished in the floor of her living room.

Hanji got closed to the bodies of the men on the floor and watched them carefully.

“You said they were going to be okay.” said Mikasa pointing to the boys on the floor “That doesn’t look okay.”

“They ARE okay Mikasa.” said Hanji seeing how both of them were breathing.

The knocking on the door had been a constant now, but it seemed like no one was going to answer to it. Well not Mikasa or Hanji that started to fight about the term of “being okay”. Armin sighed and, after a few minutes, he relaxed when he saw that Eren was just sleeping. He went to open the door hoping that putting some distance between him and the woman would muffle their screams.

He was wrong. Mikasa’s apartment wasn’t really big so one could hear the screams even from the door. Armin opened the door, getting tired of the constant knocking, and was ready to apologize to one of Mikasa’s neighbors when a tall man startled him. The man outside the door didn’t look like the people from the building.

“Hi, I’m looking for Levi” said the man.

“Wh—what?”

“I’m looking for Levi.” said again the tall man, smiling, “He sent me this address and said that he was going to be here” he took his phone out and checked the address again thinking that it might have had it wrong.

“Can you please calm down?!” Hanji’s voice was so clear in Armin’s ears that he jumped a bit and winced.

“Hanji?” said the unknown man of the door looking inside the apartment.

“ERWIN!” in less than a minute Hanji was now next to Armin and hugging the other man “What are you doing here?”

“Levi told me to come here." said the man entering the apartment and arching an eyebrow, that looked like could make more than one bald person envy, at the bodies on the floor.

“I know how this looks like…” started Hanji “but it’s not what it looks like… ?”

“So, Levi isn’t lying unconscious on top of someone who happens to be unconscious too, and they aren’t holding hands.” said Erwin crossing his arms and looking at Hanji.

“Levi has a soulmate.” the woman said rapidly.

“Does he, now.” said the blond smirking and taking a picture with his phone

“Hanji, if you don’t start talking I swear to whoever you believe in…” started Mikasa that had used all her patience to not kill the other woman.

“Doesn’t she look like Levi? Mikasa is Levi’s cousin.” said Hanji chuckling to Erwin, but when Mikasa’s growled she straighten up “Well, this is the proof.”

“You said they would probably make out or something! Not this!”

“Well, yeah… it was supposed to be like that,” started Hanji that suddenly felt all the looks on her, waiting “but things got a bit intense, and the bond has been stretching, this is the best case scenario.”

Everyone looked at her waiting for more, and the look in Mikasa’s eyes told her that if she didn’t keep talking something bad was going to happen.

“The second best case scenario,” corrected herself after a few moments “the best scenario was they making out and having sex, the worse scenario was a coma.” Hanji shrugged as if it was nothing while.

Erwin shook his head and looked at the unconscious men at his feet. How had this happened?

“We should do something.” said Mikasa after a while “Maybe move them to the bed?”

“We can’t move them.” said Hanji

“They don’t look that uncomfortable” said Erwin.

“And you are…” asked Mikasa looking at Erwin for the first time since he entered her house.

“This is Erwin, he is mine and Levi’s friend.” answered Hanji smiling and putting an arm around Erwin’s neck.

“We should let them sleep.” suddenly said Armin.

“We can’t leave them there, Arm!”

“Look at them, Mikasa.” Armin’s patience could compete with a monk sometimes. “They are sleeping and Eren hasn't had that face in years.”

Mikasa looked at his friends, as so did Hanji to Levi, and everyone was suddenly speechless. Eren looked happy and unworried, he hadn’t looked like that since they were kids, and Levi had his head on Eren’s chest and he looked peacefully sleeping, something that never really happened. So they let them rest.  
\--  
It was so warm and, for the lack of a better word, delicious. He felt so comfortable, he felt in heaven. Levi hadn’t felt like this in a very long time, but it was coming to an end. He could feel it. He could feel the reality knocking at his door, fucking reality ruining everything like usual. What a bitch.

Levi tried to fight it, he really did, but he couldn’t. It was just too late. He could feel how his consciousness was coming to him and there was nothing he could do. In any moment he would be totally awake, even if he didn’t want to be awake. He tried to make the consciousness go away, but it was too late for that. Once he was starting to wake up there was no going back, he knew it.

He could feel his limbs heavy, but rested, and the warmness of his pillow under him. It was so warm and soft, so fucking warm. He felt so good, he wasn’t tired anymore, for the first time in the last two weeks he had an incredible night. No dreams. No blood. No waking up in the middle of the night. Just rest. His body was so glad, he felt so… good.

He hasn’t felt that good in years. He didn’t want to wake up because he didn’t want that feeling to disappear, and he was sure that the feeling was going to disappear as soon as he opened his eyes. And, doing what he haven’t done in years, he decided to just stay in bed with his eyes closed imagining that he was still sleep while his senses came back to him.

But something was off. By the time that he was becoming fully awake he sense that half of his bed was cold and really uncomfortable while his pillow was strangely warm, fluffy, and really comfortable. His bed was usually just okay, but it never was that cold and that stiff; and his pillow was never so warm, not even in summer. He left his hand run over his pillow, it wasn’t as soft as it used to be, it was firm and warm…

“—mm” suddenly mumbled his pillow

And what in the name of… Pillows didn’t make sounds and he didn’t have warm pillows. It wasn’t normal for a pillow to be warm. Yeah, and just ignoring the fact that the pillow also moved, like what in the name of whatever did he do last night?

And weren’t those magic words? As soon as he thought about last night everything came back. Him arriving to Mikasa’s apartment, the blondie guy arriving and then a pair of perfect legs entering the room and two incredible green gems looking at him as if he was the only one in the room. And the panic, the knowledge of having a soulmate, the knowledge of having Eren fucking Jaeger as a soulmate.

Levi opened his eyes, suddenly aware of what had happened, and found that his “pillow” was the torso of certain brunet. Levi was frozen and if it weren’t because Eren smelt amazing he would have just left the place in that moment. But Eren scent was amazing. It was as sweet as his favorite tea and he was warm, it was intoxicating.

He turned to see their hands, still feeling how electricity was passing and running through them, making the pattern of their mark and he couldn’t help but stare at them. It was a perfect contrast, tanned skin against white as dead skin. Because he was pale not white as snow. Nobody was white as snow, that was just bullshit and he had said so when he had first listened the Snow White tale in elementary school –and yeah, his mother had a call from the principal-

And then Eren moved and Levi’s eyes left their hands and focused on the face of the man that was laying on the floor and that held him all the night. Part of him was grateful because he avoided the cold floor and he could rest like he had never rested before, another part of him wanted to punch him what had happened last night.  
Eren looked so calm. Levi had never seen like that before, he could see that he also was rested, and he looked so peaceful. Levi studied his face for a long moment. He saw how Eren’s hair was a messier when he was sleeping, how his front didn’t frown and his jaw wasn’t tense as when he had seen him and talked to him.

He saw the perfect lips that hide white teeth and that looked so kissable… So desirable. He saw himself kissing those lips and bitting them, he imagined Eren’s look while bitting his inferior lip soft… Eren moaning in response…

“—mmm” moaned Eren in that exact moment bringing Levi back to reality.

Everything in Levi, every single atom of Levi, was asking, begging, him to stay there with Eren. He knew that Eren was the reason behind the feeling of comfort and happiness that was making him warm and as happy as he hadn't been since his mom died. He also knew that just because he found his soulmate didn’t mean that everything would be magically fine, or good, but that everything would be more bearable.

Deep inside of him he longed for someone to be there for him. Someone to catch him when he fell, someone who was there when he needed anyone, someone that would hold him even when he said that he didn’t need to be held. He knew that Eren could make him happy, but he also knew that now Eren would be his greatest weakness. He had always known that one couldn’t trust feelings, that feelings made everything messier and he hated messes. And so he needed to stay away from him, he didn’t need this right now.

Funny thing was that, all those warm things, all those things he knew deep inside him, all this new discoveries that made him long for Eren also helped him hate Eren even more. He didn’t want to like Eren just because he was his soulmate. Just because a fucking pattern appeared in his hand and was the same as the brat’s didn’t mean a thing. He felt like he was doomed, like he had no other choice but to love Eren and he wasn’t going to do so. No one, not even fate, could make him do anything he didn’t want and he was going to prove the world it.

And so, changing all the sweets feelings for hate he pulled his hand away from Eren’s and stood up. He had been so angry thinking about how fate wanted to impose something to him that he had missed the frown on Eren’s face as the brunet slowly waked up.

“—mm? wha—?” mumbled Eren when he felt cold where the mark was, and that moments before had been so warm.

Levi turned to see those unfocused eyes, the lost puppy look Eren had when he woke up, and the urge to kiss him senseless arised one more time, making him growl.

“Listen up brat” said Levi, trying to look murderous but failing “I don’t care about what everybody said…”

“What?” said Eren blinking and trying really hard to understand what was happening.

“For fucks sakes!” mumbled Levi facepalming himself “I’m stuck with a coffee lover that it’s not a morning person, great.”

Still half asleep Eren looked around him trying to understand what was happening and were he was. His back was hurting like a bitch but he felt warm and kinda happy. He never felt happy in the morning. Who in his right mind would feel happy in the morning and with the sun? No one. Only crazy people, but he didn’t say that out loud because Mikasa was a morning person and once she almost punched him for saying so.

Levi waved his marked hand in front of Eren trying to gain the brat’s attention.

“Oi! Listen!”

Eren just stared at the other man asking himself how someone could have so much energy without a cup of coffee first and slowly remembering what had happened last night.

“I don’t care if you are my soulmate.” Said Levi “I don’t want to have anything to do with you. I don’t care what this fucking mark said or means, I don’t want to be with you. You are nothing to me. I don’t know you and I don’t want to know you. The only thing I want from you is to stay away from me, you are nothing to me.”

It was better that way. He didn’t need this right now. Not with Kenny near. And he didn’t want anything to do with the brat; he had no interest in him. He never had. He just hated him since the day he opened that fucking store in front of his. And with those words, and with those thoughts, he approached the door.

Just when he was about to finally leave he felt like if someone had stabbed him right in his heart. He felt desperate, broken, sad, alone and miserable… He turned, he didn’t know why but he just felt like he had to turn and saw a broken Eren sitting in the floor watching him. The look in Eren’s eyes was one of the worst things he had seen in his life, he wanted to hug the boy and make everything better….

And so he left.  
\--  
It wasn’t like he was avoiding Eren, he just didn’t feel like going to the store and he trusted Hanji not to burn the store. He trusted Hanji enough. No. He didn’t trust the four eyes, he trusted Mikasa to stop Hanji from burning the shop. Besides, how could he avoid the brat when he felt his sadness through the bond?

He wasn’t avoiding the boy, he was avoiding reality. He wasn’t answering Hanji’s phone calls, he was ignoring Mikasa’s text threats; he wasn’t even texting Erwin back. He was just lying there, in his sofa, with some pants and a t-shirt drinking tea and trying to forget the look in Eren’s eyes.

He just wanted to lay there and forget about everything. He just wanted a moment of peace, but life wouldn’t let him have peace. Oh no, that bitch wouldn’t leave Levi alone. All day he was anxious, it didn’t matter the amount of exercise he was doing, the anxiety wouldn’t leave. He was jumpy and all day he was feeling like he needed to be somewhere else. He felt cold and shivered, even when he was drinking really hot tea. And he wasn’t sleeping, he couldn’t sleep.

Every time he closed his eyes he could listen the voice of a man calling him a “worthless piece of shit” he saw punches coming to him, he could feel the pain, he could hear laughs, and he could see blood in his hands. It was just disturbing because it wasn’t Kenny’s voice; it wasn’t a voice he could recognize.  
\--  
Meanwhile, Eren was a zombie in Mikasa’s apartment. He didn’t move from the spot where Levi left him that day, and when Mikasa came back he found an unmoving Eren in the middle of his living room. Mikasa tried to make Eren talk, but the boy was just sitting there looking at nothing. It broke Mikasa’s heart.

“I’m going to kick Levi’s ass.”

“Please… don’t.r” mumbled Eren taking her hand, and that was the only thing the girl could make him say all day.

The next day Eren was gone and he didn’t appear in the shop until the next day. He looked like crap, that’s how nicely Jean described him to Armin.

Next morning Armin made Eren go back to his floor thinking his friend was going to catch the flu. He had big bags under his eyes, he was jumpy and shivering like if it were snowing inside the shop.

“Those idiots.” mumbled Hanji at dinner on Friday “They are forcing the bond.”

“—mm?”

“Levi and Eren.”

“Oh. Well, did you really think that Levi would gladly accept a soulmate?” asked Erwin.

“This is serious Erwin.”

“When it is not?”

“I mean, if everything you are saying is true, then this is not only serious but bad. Think about it, Levi might give them a fight and he would win, but not like this.” said Hanji thinking about what Erwin had told her that afternoon.

“Like this?”

“Well yeah, forcing the bond is bad. Look at what happened when you came back. If those two ended up unconscious was because the bond was already… because it was… okay look, imagine that this rubber band is the bond okay?”

Hanji took the rubber off the pony tail letting her hair fall over her shoulders and looking intensely to it while Erwin just saw what his friend was doing.

“If you stretch it too much, then the thing…” Hanji stretched it as much as she could, but the band didn’t brake “Ok it was supposed to brake, but it’s new so it isn’t going to break so easily. The point here was that if those two don’t go near each other and let the bond complete... well, if what Armin told me is correct then both of them are feeling like crap and are going to feel worse if they don’t do something quickly. We should be glad that they were unconscious just for that night, it could have been worse.”

“… Worse? Do we need to take Levi to the doctor? Shouldn’t we there with him, then?” said Erwin feeling a little lost with this bond thing.

“Levi is going to be anxious, jumpy, shivering and grumpy right now.” said Hanji, “And he is avoiding everyone so, maybe not right now but we need to do something. If not the next time Eren and Levi end up unconscious they could be unconscious for more time or like in a coma or something.” Hanji’s tone of voice was indifferent but Erwin knew her better.

“Okay, I get it.” Said Erwin noticing how Hanji was manipulating him to do something about this “Levi is going to kill me, but I have a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had a question because I got lost... according to you, dear reader, does Levi knows that Eren owns the coffee shop or is just a barista? this is important for the next chapter, so please tell me?
> 
> Also thank you for your comments, I really appreciate them <3

**Author's Note:**

> I just really had to do this, I had this in my head and I had to take it out. I appreciate comments and please just try to not be rude? I accept critic, please do, just don't do it in a mean way


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